untraceable
untraceable — adjective
- untraceablepositive
- more untraceablecomparative
- most untraceablesuperlative
1. describes something whose source, creator, or starting point cannot be discovere
describes something whose source, creator, or starting point cannot be discovered or identified
The police found the bomb was made from parts that were completely untraceable.
completely untraceable — intensifier pattern
The anonymous donations to the charity came from untraceable senders.
Hassan received an email from an untraceable account that warned him about the data leak.
Investigators could not identify the counterfeit goods because they came from untraceable sources.
- anonymous
focuses on the giver or doer being unnamed, not necessarily the source being unidentifiable
- unidentifiable
emphasises that identifying information is missing or insufficient
- unattributed
formal, used especially for quotes, works, or statements whose author is not known
- traceable
the direct opposite — possible to find the origin
- identifiable
possible to recognise or name the source
常見錯誤
2. describes a person or thing that cannot be located or tracked down, especially a
describes a person or thing that cannot be located or tracked down, especially after being lost or missing
After the earthquake, hundreds of families reported their relatives as untraceable.
reported [someone] as untraceable — passive reporting pattern
The stolen painting has been untraceable for nearly a decade despite an international search.
Iris's grandfather was untraceable for three days before a team found him in the mountains.
The missing hiker's phone signal became untraceable once she entered the deep canyon.
- missing
simpler and more common; does not carry the implication that search efforts have failed
- lost
suggests the person or thing has wandered away or been misplaced
- unaccounted for
formal, used especially in official reports following a disaster
用法筆記
Subject is usually a person who has gone missing or an object that has been lost. Unlike the ORIGIN UNKNOWN sense, this sense does not involve discovering who created something — it is about locating someone or something that already existed.
常見錯誤
3. describes a chemical or biological substance that cannot be discovered by standa
describes a chemical or biological substance that cannot be discovered by standard testing or monitoring equipment
The poison was specially designed to be untraceable in standard blood tests.
untraceable in [test/analysis] — prepositional pattern
Some new synthetic drugs are virtually untraceable through conventional screening methods.
The lab confirmed that the cleaning fluid leaves an untraceable chemical residue on surfaces.
The athlete argued the substance in his system was untraceable before the competition.
- undetectable
more common in everyday technical use; both words are largely interchangeable in this sense
- invisible
more general; does not specifically refer to chemical or biological detection
- imperceptible
broader — refers to what cannot be perceived by any of the senses, not just testing
- detectable
the direct opposite; possible to discover through testing
- traceable
possible to find by following a chemical or biological trail
用法筆記
Common in forensic science and medical contexts. The substance's undetectability is a property of the testing method, not the substance itself — a more sensitive test may detect what was previously untraceable.